Sibling Rivarly
by Xada91
Summary: An abomination forgotten by the world. A servant of the Azure Knight. Both will carve a path of destruction to serve the weilder of the cursed sword.
1. Kingdom of Nightmares

A/N: I love the Soul Caliber series.

Disclaimer: I don't own nothing.

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Sibling Rivalry

Chapter 1: Kingdom of Nightmares

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Ostrheinsburg Castle, the grand home of many lords of the past. It stands resolute in its lands, regardless of whoever reigns as its master. Deep within the halls of this testament to power rests a throne. Shaped from the finest materials, this throne has been used by men of honor, men of faith, and, in darker times, men of greed. In the past, this seat of power was revered by all.

Now however, now the mighty throne, the hallowed halls, and the expansive lands are ruled by a new master. A master with goals of the darkest nature, goals that involve not only his fallen castle and the lands around it, but his many servants and all those that live in the world.

The Azure Knight sat upon the dark throne, his evil spreading throughout the bloodied halls. His disfigured right arm clutched the armrest lightly. His armor clad left arm held his cursed sword, its point embedded in the tiled floor of the throne room.

Tira, ever faithful to her dark master, entered the room and bowed before him. She kept her head lowered even as she heard him rise from the throne. She hid a smile of pleasure and excitement as his energy washed over her. Her chaotic mind reveled and rebelled at his power's touch, both sides in agreement only that they enjoyed his presence.

"Servant." His corrupted, monstrous voice echoed throughout the room, an answer to the dark staccato of his footsteps. "Where is it?" She flinched at the obvious rage.

"I couldn't find him." She spoke with the voice of an innocent girl. She closed her eyes, expecting a vicious blow at any moment. When the attack failed to occur, she looked up timidly at her master. He merely stood there, gazing at her with his crimson eyes.

"I will give you one month to bring it to me." He flourished his blade and laid it next to her neck. "If you fail me, I will devour your soul."


	2. Awakening the Beast

A/N: There is actual action in this chapter. Also Necrid.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

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Sibling Rivalry

Chapter 2: Awakening the Beast

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Darkness. Familiar, comforting darkness. That is all he had left, his world being shattered from the outside in. As the twisted beast lay sleeping, hidden from sight and memory, he felt a faint whisper of familiarity. He would not be woken from his darkness by mere whispers, not when he was kept safe from the world and its pain. In his continued sleep, the beast sensed another whisper, this one also familiar but nowhere near as pleasant as the previous. This was the burning power of light, worming its way into his mind.

Fearsome, white eyes opened beneath a metal mask. Three large, talon tipped fingers clenched together in anger. His orange flesh rippled with inhuman muscles as he pulled himself up from the crypt. The large plate of crystal on his chest pulsing in time with his chaotic, broken thoughts. He turned his mysterious gaze to the source of the pain. Standing there was a young man, his dark hair falling into his eyes. He wore a red coat over his bare chest and trousers. His booted feet were spread firmly on the ground, a stout staff held before him.

"What are you?" The boy asked suspiciously. "Why are you here?"

The only answer he received was a distorted, unfamiliar language. As he watched the boy, Necrid felt the burning pain well up. With the pain came rage, and with his rage came an increase to the whisper of darkness. For the moment his mind was focused only on the boy. His warped left arm clenched around a sphere of energy that flicked in tune with the pulses of his chest.

"My name is Kilik, I don't want any trouble. I'm looking for my friends, has anyone come through here?"

With a guttural roar Necrid rushed forward, the sphere twisted in his grip, becoming a large sword of energy. His weapon crashed against Kilik's staff, the sheer force of his swing pushing the boy back a few steps. Kilik bounced back even further from the beast. Necrid's sphere returned to its natural shape, the beast watching, thinking in his chaotic way about how he could destroy the pain the boy brought. Again the whisper echoed in his mind, stronger this time, almost as though it were seeking him out. The whisper was comforting, the pain brought on by the boy's existence was not. This allowed even Necrid's mind to decide what to do. He grabbed the sphere with both hands, the energy flowing into two, smaller blades. Again he clashed with Kilik, they slammed their weapons together, Necrid's becoming an energy shield whenever Kilik came close to hitting him.

All the while Necrid could feel the whisper growing and two new presences, connected to Kilik's. With another roar he knocked the boy out of the large stone room. The two new comers rushed to the boy's side. The beast observed as the stronger of the two souls knelt next to Kilik as the weaker stood between the two and himself.

"Xianghua is Kilik okay?" The man standing between himself and his enemy asked the woman.

"I'm fine." Kilik said, pulling himself to his feet. "Maxi, let's get out of here." After a few tense moments Necrid felt the dark whisper grow even closer. Deciding the whisper was more important than the growing pain, he walked past the three and towards the exit, ignoring the confused looks he received. He walked for hours towards the exit and the source of the whisper. When he finally exited the catacombs, he felt, not a sense of freedom, but excitement at how near he was to the whisper.

He stood outside the entrance for a moment, trying to locate which direction it was coming from. After a few seconds of searching his gaze snapped up to the branches of a nearby tree. Standing there was a young girl, her dark hair painted green and a dark expression on her face. She was clad in a dark green body suit, held together with random stitches and seemingly self-inflicted slashes in the fabric.

"Found you, he'll be so happy." He voice was a raspy growl. Then her expression brightened. "Maybe he'll give me a present!" Her voice was then that of an innocent girl. Even the beast was confused by her behavior. "Come on silly! We can't keep him waiting."


	3. Master's Messenger

A/N: More Soul Caliber. Just so you know, it's Nightmare's SC2 p1 costume, Necrid's p2 costume and Tira's SC3 p1 costume.

Note: _This is for the way-too-happy Tira. __**And this is for angry-psycho Tira.**_

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

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Sibling Rivalry

Chapter 3: Master's Messenger

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As they walked through the forests of Europe, Tira's already fractured mind was in a turmoil. _Stupid monster…too slow for our own good… __**Maybe I should kill him? **__No He'll be upset with me… __**He won't be He cares for us too much. **__Maybe He'll like the monster better… __**I'm His favorite and no animal is going to change that!**_ Both of her refused to believe that her master would favor this…thing over herself. _Why does He even need him? __**Probably an assistant for me… **__I always wanted an assistant… _

She was pulled from her thoughts when she heard the crunch of leaves. The beast made a few guttural noises she believed were meant to be words. "I know we're not alone." She rasped out, annoyed at his existence. "Either help me find it or stay out of the way." She snapped as she stalked towards the sound's origin. She had taken three steps when a mass of shiny metal came rolling out of the trees. She raised her ring blade to ward off any attack but the metal simply bounced over her and broke apart before collecting in the twisted caricature of a human being. Pieces of metal floated in the air as though they were armor for some invisible creature. Within the mass floated a pulsing orb of muscle, in the middle of this was a large eye. Tira turned to face the apparent threat before she realized what the creature was. The eye flicked between her and the beast before rolling into the muscle. It then refocused on her, its iris more red than it had been. Then her master's voice reached to her through the creature.

"I see you have found Necrid." The creature, moving as though it were the Azure knight, turned to face the beast in question. The eye stared at him for a long time. Tira felt a power drift from the eye into the monster. "Bow." Without missing a beat, the beast and the girl complied with their master's order. "Tira." She raised her head to look at him. "Necrid." The beast did the same. "Bring me the traitors so that I might have vengeance upon their flesh." With that, the knight was gone, leaving the metal creature as it had been. It paused for a second before galloping into the forest in the direction of Ostrheinsburg. _**Freak. **__Wonder if it'll be fun to play with… __**Better not, He'll be mad if I break it.**_


	4. Brooding Devotion

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to the only active supporter of this story: Celestial Zodiac.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

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Sibling Rivalry

Chapter 4: Brooding Devotion

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The Azure knight sat upon his throne, his mind working out dark, decrepit thoughts. He thought on the way the world had turned, both in and against his favor. As he often did when his servants had left him, he thought on that man. The heroic king that had mastered the cursed blade, one of the few to do so. He thought long and hard about that man whose name the world had forgotten for the longest time. Only a select few knew of that man, even less remembered his name. Nightmare remembered. The soul of the cursed blade remembered. The deceiver had remembered, for he had spoken of the king. The knight's messenger had remembered, back when it was man. Its mind had spoken of the king when it merged with fragments of Soul Edge's sister blade. That had been quite the shock, finding the king's name when he had reclaimed his messenger.

The knight looked up at the vaulted ceiling of the throne room. His soul, that of the cursed sword Soul Edge, the being the world had named Inferno, burned with a semblance of longing. When the king had wielded his blade, before the splitting, he had felt peace. Even the man's use of the holy sword was forgivable. At all other times the power of Soul Calibur was enough to send all of his being into a pure fit of rage. However, the link provided by the man allowed the blades to exist together. This was the closest the cursed blade had come to peace in its long existence. Until that day…

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_**Long before the time of Rome…**_

The cursed sword lay silent within the tower of Algol. Its eye closed in a form of sleep. It did not stir at the sound of approaching footsteps, for they were not those of its master. They were however, familiar to the blade. As they grew even closer, hesitant, frightened, but ever curious. Closer they came and still the eye was closed. Perhaps the boy thought the blade was dormant? This caused stirrings deep within the soul of the blade. Old habits began to surface. It would be so easy, so very easy to take the boy. His soul was already corrupted. He would be the blade's in less than a day. Shaking, twitching, terrified fingers gripped the blade. The boy was frightened out of his mind, but as his hands tightened upon the blade, he felt… something.

_Hello, child of my master… _The boy's eyes opened wide in shock as a voice entered his mind. _I've watched you, yes… Your people don't respect you do they?_

"What?" he murmured to the empty room. _Don't you know? They don't respect you, they respect the son of your father… _"But that's-" _That's what you are, not who you are…that is who they should respect… _"Respect?" Without realizing it, the boy had begun to climb towards the top of the tower. _Without respect, how are you to one day become king? _"My father is king…" _And he will be king for all time, won't he? _"King forever?" _And when your bones are dust in the ground, he will still be king… _"I will not be forgotten." _How are you going to prevent that…the only people that are remembered are great rulers…great…kings… _And suddenly, the boy was at the top of the great tower. When he spoke, his voice grew distorted from the blade's power and his eyes glowed a red, burning glow. "Then I will be king!"

"Is that what you truly want my son?" The voice of his father spoke from behind him. "To kill me and take my throne?"

"I want nothing else!" He snarled, turning to attack his father. Soul Edge and Soul Calibur cashed, once again on opposite sides on the field of battle. The fire of one matched by the glory of the other. "You want to keep everything for yourself!"

"I want to bring peace to this world!" With a mighty yell the king shattered both blades. He grabbed the remains of Soul Edge from his son's grasp. The boy collapsed to his knees before his stunned father, his soul consumed by the cursed blade.

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The Azure knight lowered his gaze. Now was not the time for memories. Nightmare turned at the sound of claws on the stone tiled floor. His gaze was met by that of a lizard. "Bring me the man with the scythe." He commanded the beast. It turned and left, the sound of several talon tipped feet following its retreat. "He betrayed me as well." He muttered to himself, his left hand tightening on Soul Edge.


	5. Secret Devotion

A/N: Please don't hate me for this chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

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Sibling Rivalry

Chapter 5: Secret Devotion

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Ivy Valentine smiled pleasantly in her sleep. She smiled as she dreamed of her adopted family, of the life she had before… Suddenly her dreams were less enjoyable than they had been. Her smile faded as she walked through her accursed past. Choices she had made and those of others had destroyed who she had been. And then she had met him. The Azure knight. Her eyes snapped open when her mind brought him up. She would not be weak. She would find him and rip that cursed blade apart. It was not the first time she had promised herself that. And until she found the knight, it would probably not be the last. She sat up in her bed, brushing her short, white hair out of her eyes. As it often did when she thought on the knight, her mind turned to her present traveling companion.

"Siegfried." She smiled slightly when she thought of him. She had, on quite a few levels, enjoyed his company. She would never admit to what extent of course, they had too much history together. Again her mind turned to Nightmare. What the sword had done to Siegfried frightened her. If he could be so corrupted, then she, already born of darkness, had no chance of resisting the swords power at all. The creature he had become was nothing like who he was. The knight was manipulative, cruel, and the embodiment of darkness. She felt a strange sadness that she had helped him become that creature. Still, she had been somewhat glad to have run into him in this small town.

"Ivy." The man in question called from her door.

"One moment." She dressed quickly, not wanting things to grow more awkward between them. "Come in." The younger man entered the room, his golden hair falling past his shoulders. He was not clad in his usual armor, instead he wore simple, white clothing and dark traveler's boots. "No armor today?" She asked coyly.

"No, I'm going to look for some supplies. Do you want to come?" He gestured to the door.

"Always so eager to have me alone. I might as well come, just to keep you company of course." She smiled lightly.

"Of course." His smile was slow to come and lacked his old humor. She missed that, his sense of joy. He had often kept their group entertained before… _Stop it._ She hissed to herself, she would not let him think she felt anything for him. _It'll only hurt more. For both of us. _

"Ivy?" She blinked at the concern in his voice.

"What?"

"Is something wrong?" She bristled at that. He was getting too close to her for him to sense her emotions that easily. She walked past him briskly, taking care not to touch him.

"Nothing at all." She would not allow him to see her weakness. If he did, he would try to protect her. She knew this, just as she knew why he would do so. That reason had the power to destroy them both.


	6. Nonexistent Devotion

A/N: More from our favorite duo.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

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Sibling Rivalry

Chapter 6: Nonexistent Devotion

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Tira ran quickly through the woods. Her watchers had informed her of Siegfried Schtauffen's location. Luckily he was with the other traitor Ivy. She would be able to get two kills for the price of one. _**The He won't have any use for that monster… **__I'll be his favorite again! _She had left Necrid behind as soon as Charade had left. She would not allow that…freak to replace her

Necrid, for his part, found little trouble in following her. He followed her trail on instinct alone, his mind focused on the creature he had run into earlier. Even his twisted mind had understood that what he saw was not the source of the soothing power that had flooded his mind, quieting the pain that had come to define his existence. He had regained some of his old intelligence, something he had lost long ago. For the first time in, who knows how long, Necrid had formed a plan. It was a simple one: get closer to the source of that power. He sensed that his…companion had the same basic goal, but for different reasons. He gathered that she wanted to keep him from the source. He would not allow that. He growled to himself when he thought on what he would do to the girl if she became an obstacle.

Tira smiled to herself as she neared a small village. This was where the two traitors were. When she was done with them she would deal with the others her master had targeted for her. She stopped at the edge of the woods, twirling her ring blade in her hands. She grimaced when she heard the sound of heavy footsteps behind her. She turned to confront her supposed ally. When she spoke her voice was a vicious snarl.

"Go away, go find the others, these are mine." The large creature stared at her from behind his mask. "Go after the other freak." She closed her eyes briefly. "He's in Greece." He voice became overly cheerful. "Have fun!" She called before running towards the village. Necrid watched after her for a moment before turning and walking off into the woods. If the girl wanted to divide the prey between them, then he would just have to finish his battles before her. And if she tried to beat him in her little contest, he would simply have to break her.


	7. Unified Devotion

A/N: Enjoy the magical pre-holiday chapter about our other duo. Plus one. And a few Lizardmen.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

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Sibling Rivalry

Chapter 7: Unified Devotion

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Siegfried walked carefully through the streets of the village. He was wary of even the slightest threat, due to the fact of him having neither his armor nor his sword. Beside him, and much to his chagrin, Ivy strutted along the streets drawing all forms of attention with her freely displayed sword and…other assets. He had asked her to wear some more discreet clothing. She had put a light coat on and claimed she felt overdressed. He tensed when he felt her hand on his arm.

"Relax, if you stay this tense you'll burn yourself out." She smiled at his embarrassment, he was still too easy. "And you're making people stare." She waved to a man behind some type of stall.

"Me?" Siegfried asked indignantly. "If you would wear clothes maybe no one would stare." He gestured around them. "Every man within sight has his eyes fixed to you."

"Not every man." He raised an eyebrow at her words. "I don't see you ogling me."

"That's because I've gotten to know you. These poor men have no idea what you're like when you're in a mood." He shook his head. "Terrifying."

"Well you're one to talk." She smiled at the startled look he gave her.

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"You've got your own set of admirers." She flicked her eyes to a store across the street. He followed her gaze to see three girls scramble away from the door. Ivy laughed when a light flush came over his features. "See? You're very attractive Siegfried." She nearly clapped a hand over her own mouth to stop the words. She looked anywhere but at him, completely mortified by her lack of control. "For a vagabond." She covered quickly, walking towards the shop where Siegfried's admirers had been. After a brief hesitation, he decided to follow her.

"Ivy?" She looked at him from the counter. "Look I-" Both their eyes widened at the same moment. Through their…uniqueness, they both felt a whisper of evil near the village. They both recognized the energy for the Azure Knight's servant. "It's her." He said, looking about the shop for a weapon.

"The girl with the ring blade?" Ivy asked, brandishing her sword. Another quiver of energy caught her attention. "And lizards." At this there was a large crash and several Lizardmen bounded into the store, hissing furiously. Siegfried grabbed a large steel paddle set against the wall of the shop.

"I'll pay for this later." He called to the panicked storeowner. He and Ivy stood back-to-back, seven Lizardmen standing in a circle around them while three more paced around the outside of the circle. "We're the targets, they're definitely working for him." Siegfried said, knowing he didn't have to say who he was referring to.

"Nope-nope!" Called a frightfully cheery voice. "I work for him silly." Tira's huge grin vanished suddenly. "They work for me." She rasped out.


	8. Conditional Devotion

A/N: I now present a chapter about everyone's gurgling monster. Sort of, in a form of framing device. Also, two 'new' characters are in this. Enjoy. And this chapter serves two purposes. it both: A) involves Necrid in the plot...kind of, and B) provides the previous chapter with a longer cliff-hanger. Its win-win in my book. Oh, and C) it's a veiled excuse to update, so win-win-win.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

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Sibling Rivalry

Chapter 8: Conditional Devotion

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Necrid's heavy footsteps echoed through the woods as he searched for his target. He would never come even close to admitting it but he had no idea how to track down this…Astaroth. Once he found the giant, Necrid would either tear him apart or drag him to the source of that soothing darkness. Then he would go in search of his other prey, whether that little creature wanted him to or not.

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"DIE!" The giant roared as he brought his axe down upon his enemy. The woman dodged out of the way just in time to escape immediate death.

"Cassandra!" The woman's sister yelled, concern filling her voice.

"I'm fine." She called, running to get out of the range Astaroth's weapon provided. "I think he might be a little angry."

"I'll rip you spines from your bodies!" He yelled furiously, his axe smashing apart houses on either side of the street.

"Yes." Sophitia answered her sister's now rhetorical question. "We need to finish this quickly, he's going to destroy the entire village!"

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Necrid quickened his pace in response to a new source of darkness. The energy was different from his master's, yet strong and malicious. This was either the monster he was searching for or a strong soul to be gathered for his master. Necrid did not know how he knew the knight required souls, nor did he care. All he knew was that serving his master well would bring him an end to his pain. He snarled to himself when he thought of his supposed ally. She only had one chance to avoid his wrath, and that was to allow him to win her little contest. Either way, he would have blood.


End file.
